Western Publishing Archives - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources

Legal | Illustrator Greg Theakston tells The Comics Journal that during his Christmas vacation, he plans to file a police complaint against the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center, alleging it stole about 3,000 photocopies of Kirby’s pencil work. Theakston gave the photocopies to the museum, but he contends it was intended to be a loan, while the museum says it was an outright donation. If this sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because Theakston has been threatening legal action since August. [The Comics Journal]

Creators | Paul Tumey posts a charming series of letters from Pogo creator Walt Kelly to a young pen pal (who had a pet alligator named Albert), along with plenty of backstory. [The Comics Journal]

Comics and cartoons have been inexorably linked since their foundations in the early 1900s, and we’ve seen everyone from Winsor McCay to Charles Schulz to Judd Winick jump back and forth between animation and comic books. And now one die-hard fan of the legendary cartoon series Looney Tunes is dusting off the under-appreciated history of Bugs Bunny and pals in comics form for a new blog called Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Comics.

“Ever since the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes [animated]series began in 1930, the characters have had a side career in comics, both newspaper strips and comic books,” writes Matthew Hunter. Looney Tunes first hit comics in 1941 under the auspices of Western Publishing’s Dell Comics, and for more than 40 years published a variety of titles featuring the stars of the brand. After that company shuttered in the ’80s, DC Comics — its parent company Warner Bros. owns the properties — took over and continues to publish them to this day.

Since Hunter launched his blog in May, he’s posted a number of great (and not-so-great examples) of Looney Tunes in print, with everything from 1940s Dell strips all the way to present-day DC work. Definitely great for some Saturday afternoon reading — or ready any time, for that matter.